newsbrief

lahore (Staff Reporter): Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan Air Chief Marshal (R) Jayalath Weerakkody has called for full exploitation of Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He was talking to the LCCI President Ijaz A. Mumtaz at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry here on Tuesday. Sri Lankan High Commissioner said that there is a vast scope for the expansion of two-way trade between Pakistan and Sri Lank in the presence of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to further strengthen their multifaceted and multi-sectoral cooperation in the fields of education, culture, commerce and trade, science and technology and tourism.

He said that both Pakistan and Sri Lanka are lucrative investment locations for each other’s exporters as on the one hand Pakistan is a gateway to resource-rich Central Asian States while on the other Sri Lanka enjoys duty-free access to huge European and Indian markets.

ISLAMABAD (INP): President Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) Dr Murtaza Mughal has proposed steps to stop massive recirculation of expired medicines in the country. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Dr. Mughal said that 51 percent of all the medicines used by humans are in shape of pills and capsules and every pharmaceutical produces billions of tablets annually. Many tablets get expired on shelves which are re-circulated by some elements for profit which must be stopped, he added. He said that recirculation of expired drugs can be discouraged if authorities decide to make embossing of batch number and expiry date on every tablet compulsory.

The PEW president said that embossing batch number and expiry date on every tablet is mandatory in many countries but the issue is yet to win attention of authorities in Pakistan.

He said that the current practice of the details being printed with ink on strips can easily be erased while details embossed on packing is also not very effective.

ISLAMABAD (APP): Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has achieved the European Union (EU)’s approved international security standards, ACC3, Director Safety & Quality Assurance, PIA, Capt. Salman Azhar said this during a press conference held here on Tuesday. Capt. Salman said it has been made mandatory for all airline operators to ensure the approved security standards by EU validators for dispatching air cargo or mail to any EU destination. He said that PIA embarked upon implementing this requirement in April 2014 and has now achieved the validation to transport cargo & mail to EU and through EU for onward dispatch to the United States.

He said for ensuring the standards, the PIA procured state of the art screening equipments for all three main airports of the country. It also acquired expert training from the UK instructors in order to implement the regulation effectively, he added.

Capt. Salman Azhar said that the PIA’s security standards testify the fact that “We have very robust security process and procedures, which are up to the highest international standards.”

He said that PIA is the only airline among the 14 high risk countries to have achieved this distinction in a very short span .

The United Kingdom’s Transport Department has commended the PIA’s efforts for engaging in the process of validation and having open relations with them, he added. He said achieving the security standards is another milestone in the long and successful history of PIA.

Replying to a question, the Staff Officer, Sher Ali Khan said that the airlines has achieved 88 percent punctuality in departure and arrival timings, however, the target is to achieve and maintain 100 percent punctuality.

rawalpindi (Staff Reporter): The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce &Industry (RCCI) and all the traders of city decided to observe countrywide shutter down strike after the failure of arbitration process with the government on the issues of withdrawal of SRO 608, sales tax withholding agents and tax reforms. President RCCI Syed Asad Mashadi after consultation with the All Pakistan Chambers’ Presidents and Presidents of All Pakistan Traders Association would announce the date to make sure countrywide strike. It was decided in an emergent meeting presided by Syed Asad Mashadi President with leaders of all traders’ associations of city and Cantt held here at the Chamber on Tuesday.

Asad Mashadi while briefing the traders’ leaders that a month ago business community of the region jointly gave government one week deadline to accept their aforementioned demands otherwise they will go on strike. After announcement two members committee of parliamentarians named Mian Abdul Manan and Malik Pervaiz contacted Chamber’s president and requested to resolve the issue with dialogue and postpone their strike till committee reach any conclusion. Mashadi said that after consultation with traders Chamber nodded parliamentarians’ suggestion. He said that after one month of series of meetings at Chamber, FBR House and other places government, committee has failed to produce any result and the same period businessmen community starts receiving audit notices from the board which was of course a blackmailing tactic to force the traders to accept black law of SRO 608.

President RCCI said that now business community of Rawalpindi has decided shutter down strike to spread this countrywide. “I will talk to All Pakistan Chambers Presidents and leaders of All Pakistan Trade Associations to join hands with RCCI as it is an issue of all traders and in a day or two the final announcement will be made through media”, he said.

Asad Mashadi said that business community with great patience delayed their strike for the betterment of country but government is not serious to resolve the issue through dialogue and we have no option left other than to resolve our issues on roads. He said that business community will not going to welcome any drawing room policy anymore.

Speaking on the occasion the businessmen said that government is already facing a hard time and due to its stubborn policies govt had weaken its political strength and strike of business community will be proved the last nail in govt’s coffin. They said that government is promoting and consulting the traders of its own choice and ignoring the real representatives of the business community.

lahore (Staff Reporter): The Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry has expressed deep grief and sorrow over demise of the LCCI former president Shahzada Alam Monnoo. LCCI President Ijaz A. Mumtaz, Senior Vice President Mian Nauman Kabir and Vice President Syed Mahmood Ghaznavi and Executive Committee in a condolence message said that business community will always remember his services for cause of trade and industry. They said that the demise of Shahzada Alam Monnoo was an irreparable loss and prayed to the Almighty Allah to keep the departed soul in peace and let the family bear this irreparable loss with fortitude.